Overview

A newly discovered tale by Wilhelm Grimm about a little girl who is sent into the forest by her mother to escape the war. While there, she is cared for by Saint Joseph and her guardian angel.

A national bestseller in 1988, this book is already a classic in the eyes of children and adults alike. For the 1990 gift-giving season--and available thereafter--Dear Mili is presented in combination with a reproduction of one of Maurice Sendak's preliminary pencil studies for ...

1995 Paperback Good Connecting readers with great books since 1972. Used books may not include companion materials, some shelf wear, may contain highlighting/notes, and may not ...include cd-rom or access codes. Customer service is our top priority!Read moreShow Less

Maurice Sendak U.S.A. 1995 Paperback As New 10 x 9. An unused paperback book with minor shelfwear. Beautifully illustrated by Maurice Sendak, a retelling of a Wilhelm Grimm ...fairy tale of a young girl sent into the forest for her protection during troubling times.Read moreShow Less

More About
This Book

Overview

A newly discovered tale by Wilhelm Grimm about a little girl who is sent into the forest by her mother to escape the war. While there, she is cared for by Saint Joseph and her guardian angel.

A national bestseller in 1988, this book is already a classic in the eyes of children and adults alike. For the 1990 gift-giving season--and available thereafter--Dear Mili is presented in combination with a reproduction of one of Maurice Sendak's preliminary pencil studies for the poignant farewell scene between Mili and her mother.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
- Publisher's Weekly

Preserved in a letter written to a young girl, Mili, in 1816 and not discovered until 1983, the Grimm story is prefaced by a tender address in which he underscores the story's message: although there are many obstacles that can prevent people from being together, ``one human heart can go out to another, undeterred by what lies between.'' The story that follows implies that love transcends even death. Like many fairy tales, this one deals with extraordinary events. A widow sends her child into the forest to protect her from an approaching war. The girl is led by her guardian angel past menacing cliffs and chasms to the house of Saint Joseph with whom she lives for three days. Before she goes back to the village, Saint Joseph gives her a rosebud as a symbol of her return to paradise; when the girl reaches her home, she finds that the three days have been in reality 30 years. ``God has granted the widow's last wish'' to see her daughter once again. In the morning, mother and child are found dead, with Saint Joseph's rose ``in full bloom.'' Sendak's haunting interpretation of this stark tale is often more emotionally compelling than the story itself. Dear Mili is a variation on the themes of loss, separation and love that Sendak has explored before, most recently in Outside Over There . In the tradition of 19th century Sunday school literature, the plot and language of the text are often predictable and obviously preachy. For example, after Mili's long journey and prayer, a cleansing rain falls: ``God and my heart are weeping together,'' she says. In an attempt to transcend the limitations of the religious story, Sendak infuses it with images that are both nonsectarian and universal. Trees and roots in the valley of death become grasping, whitened bones scattered beneath an outline reminiscent of buildings at Auschwitz. The images are rich: dark clouds of war are etched with claws of yellow fire, and paradise is filled not only with music, but with lush flowers that burst, like those of Van Gogh or O'Keeffe, with passionate life. The volume may have more appeal for adults than for children, but nonetheless it contains unforgettable artwork of resonant power. Michael di Capua Books. All ages. (Oct.)

Children's Literature
- Mary Sue Preissner

Sendak's full page, Old World illustrations bring one of Grimm's tales to life. In reading a Grimm tale, we must remember that not all tales end happily, and that many of these are actually grim, as is this one. Some current readers may object to the "Saint Joseph" part of this tale, but keep in mind that religion has played a big part in the lives of people, especially during Grimm's lifetime. 1995 (orig.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3 This is a problematic book: a potent combination of compelling pictures and a seriously disturbing text. Although the discovery of the tale in 1983 made front-page news, there is little novelty or originality to it. The story, found in a letter of 1816, is a pastiche of several ``religious tales.'' When war approaches, a widowed mother sends her beloved little daughter, protected by a guardian angel, into the forest, trusting God to bring her back in three days. The intrepid girl encounters St. Joseph, dutifully does what she is bid, shares her cake, and plays with the angel (now a doppel-ganger ). On the third day the angel-double leads her home, where she finds an ``old, old woman''her mother. In those 3 days, 30 years have passed, and the mother has suffered fear and misery during a great war, while mourning the daughter whom she believed dead. Mother and child happily spend the evening together, go to bedand are found dead in the morning. Separation, fear, violence, and even death are familiar elements in Grimms' tales: what is unsettling here is the treatment, the unanticipated mixture of fairy tale, realism, and religion. Our firm expectationsthat the child will be safeguarded by her mother's love, by God's Providence, and by her own staunch goodnessare brutally undermined by the ending. Publishing this pious parable as a picture book for children in 1988 makes W. Grimm look like a macabre forerunner of O. Henry. The pictures only compound the problem. Stunningly beautiful, in Sendak's elaborate neo-19th-Century style, packed with ``high art'' touches, their Romantic grace, cozy cottages, and abundant flowers all reinforce our feelings of security. Although the story hints strongly that when the heroine finds St. Joseph she is actually in Heaven, the setting offers no clarification on this point. The gorgeous art and the names Sendak and Grimm guarantee that this book will be requested. Warned by librarians and booksellers, parents might at least choose to modify or omit the last few lines at bedtime readings. Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle

From the Publisher

“Emotionally compelling . . . A variation on the themes of loss, separation and love . . . Sendak infuses it with images that are both nonsectarian and universal. Trees and roots in the valley of death become grasping, whitened bones scattered beneath an outline reminiscent of buildings at Auschwitz. The images are rich: dark clouds of war are etched with claws of yellow fire, and paradise is filled not only with music, but with lush flowers that burst, like those of Van Gogh or O’Keeffe, with passionate life . . . Contains unforgettable artwork of resonant power.” —Publishers Weekly

“Dear Mili is among Mr. Sendak’s finest creations. If one hesitates to call him the foremost illustrator in contemporary America, or the most accomplished draftsman, it is only because those terms set too narrow a limit on the nature of his achievement. He is an artist, nothing less; an artist with a powerful vision.” —John Gross, The New York Times

“In the Sendak world, stories unfold like dreams, where images connect emotionally and serendipitously, not by the logic imposed by grown-ups when they are awake. In much of his work, beauty and sorrow walk hand in hand . . . [Sendak’s work gives] children the power to conquer through art and ingenuity, reminding parents of the complicated responsibility that requires them to be hopeful but realistic about the terrible wild things out there.” —The New York Times

Related Subjects

Meet the Author

MAURICE SENDAK (1928–2012) was one of the preeminent children’s book illustrators and authors of the twentieth century. Best-known for the Caldecott Medal–winning Where the Wild Things Are, he was also the recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children’s book illustration, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, and the National Medal of Arts.

WILHELM GRIMM (1786–1859) was a German author, linguist, and folklorist who, along with his older brother, Jakob, published Children’s and Household Tales in 1812. Popularly known as Grimms’ Fairy Tales, this collection was continually revised by the brothers and ultimately included 210 folk tales, among them many that have become famous around the world.

Read an Excerpt

Dear Mili,

I’m sure you have gone walking in the woods or in green meadows, and passed a clear, flowing brook. And you’ve tossed a flower into the brook, a red one, a blue one, or a snow-white one. It drifted away, and you followed it with your eyes as far as you could. And it went quietly away with the little waves, farther and farther, all day long and all night too, by the light of the moon or the stars. It didn’t need much light, for it knew the way and it didn’t get lost. When it had traveled for three days without stopping to rest, another flower came along on another brook. A child like you, but far far away from here, had tossed it into a brook at the same time. The two flowers kissed, and went their way together and stayed together until they both sank to the bottom. You have also seen a little bird flying away over the mountain in the evening. Perhaps you thought it was going to bed; not at all, another little bird was flying over other mountains, and when all was dark on the earth, the two of them met in the last ray of sunshine. The sun shone bright on their feathers, and as they flew back and forth in the light they told each other many things that we on the earth below could not hear. You see, the brooks and the flowers and the birds come together, but people do not; great mountains and rivers, forests and meadows, cities and villages lie in between, they have their set places and cannot be moved, and humans cannot fly. But one human heart goes out to another, undeterred by what lies between. Thus does my heart go out to you, and though my eyes have not seen you yet, it loves you and thinks it is sitting beside you. And you say: “Tell me a story.” And it replies: “Yes, dear Mili, just listen.”

Your Rating:

Your Recommendations:

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked,
or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to
Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original
and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you
and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not
violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help
ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer.
However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or
to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the
information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its
sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the
review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.

- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly
those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com
also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by:
Showing
all of
3
Customer Reviews

Anonymous

Posted December 18, 2006

Classic Grimm

I have read both the German original and the English translation. Both are hauntingly beautiful. A treasure, to be sure. For those who may be turned off by the supposed 'adult themes', this story is no more sad and violent than the more traditional Grimm fairy tales - in the original Cinderella, for example, the stepsisters are caught cutting off their toes and heels in an attempt to fit into the slippers.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

Anonymous

Posted September 29, 2003

haunting and unforgettable

When I was a child I would read this book with tears running down my cheeks. I would become lost in the pictures, finding something new within the story each time I read it. Now as an adult, I find 'Dear Mili' equally moving. It is a rich and timeless tale that explores important issues that are relevant to both adults and children alike. Although it is a sad story, its message is ultimately one of hope and triumph through difficult times.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

Anonymous

Posted May 25, 2000

My favorite childhood book.

When I was little my grandmother would always read me this book before I went to bed. I think the pictures were my favorite part but whatever it was brought me back to her attic searching for it through cobwebs and dust. Many hours later and among the several thousand other books I eventually found what I was looking for. Dear Mili now sits atop my bookshelf where I now sometimes read it to myself before I sleep. This is a perfect book for all people of all ages. Children will love the pictures and adults will love the story.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.